A hark back to the days of 1980 Go Back Foreigner !
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Go Back Foreigner. This was the slogan that rend the air during much of 1980 and fast forward to 2026 and the spirit of this slogan has returned with renewed vigour. Not without reason. Back then it was the All Manipur Students’ Union (AMSU) and a committee of students christened All Manipur Students’ Co-ordinating Committee (AMSCOC) which spearheaded the movement and looking back, one can trace a number of movement to this ‘Go Back Foreigner’ slogan in the intense movement launched to bring Manipur under the Inner Line Permit System, which was ultimately extended here in December 2019. In extending the ILP, the BJP Government at Delhi managed to address two issues, neatly addressing the intense movement that was on here against the move to introduce the Citizenship Amendment Bill, by bringing Manipur under the ILP which automatically exempted the State from the purview of CAB, which ultimately became an Act. The terms of agreement that were inked back then between AMSU and the Government is not very clear to The Sangai Express, happening as it was more than 40 years back, but what is undeniable is the growing need to protect the interests of the natives of the land. And this is what may be read into the call of AMSU to implement the points of agreement that were inked back in 1980 and again in 1994. As noted here, in Assam, the anti-foreigner movement catapul- ted AASU to the centre stage and it was from this movement that the Asom Gana Parishad was born, which in turn saw the emergence of leaders like Prafulla Kumar Mahanta and Bhrigu Kumar Phukan. The Go Back Foreigner movement in Manipur did not go the Assam way, but more than 40 years down the line and it has now all the potential to take on a more intense form, if the voice rung out is not heeded. Details of the pact from the 1980 movement not in the knowledge of The Sangai Express but what can be ascertained from the call to implement the accord should not be lost on either Delhi or Imphal. It is the need to first identify the illegal immigrants, set them apart and then go about conducting the headcount of the genuine citizens of the land. A similar measure had already been taken up in Assam and one wonders why Delhi has not given the importance to the call to mark out the illegal immigrants and set them apart so that they are not included in the headcount. The merit in the call to first identify the illegals cannot be missed.
Manipur can certainly expect to see stormy days ahead if the ultimatum of April is anything go by for remember the Government has already notified that house- listing will start from September 1 this year. Certain things should be clear. Manipur is not against the headcount or census. What it is against is opening avenues to include the illegals in the census and then count them as genuine citizens of the land. This is what is unacceptable. A demand that has been raised and pursued by the Committee for Just and Fair Delimitation for days now, with AMSU now jumping into the fray and demanding that the points of agreement signed in 1980 and 1994 be implemented. It would help if the elders of AMSU or those associated with the Go Back Foreigners movement of 1980 and the 1994 agreement can enlighten the people on the points that were agreed upon. The task ahead is not easy but it is not impossible. The Government just has to demonstrate that it means business in weeding out the illegals. That Delhi has taken note of the threat posed by the unchecked infiltration from across the border can be gauged from the decision it has taken to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and tweak the Free Movement Regime. And if it has acknowledged the issue of unchecked infiltration from across the border, then it is only right that it also addresses the issue of dealing with the illegals who have already entered the State and merged with sections of the local population. Nothing unlawful or illegal in raising the call to first identify the illegals and then conduct the headcount.
Manipur can certainly expect to see stormy days ahead if the ultimatum of April is anything go by for remember the Government has already notified that house- listing will start from September 1 this year. Certain things should be clear. Manipur is not against the headcount or census. What it is against is opening avenues to include the illegals in the census and then count them as genuine citizens of the land. This is what is unacceptable. A demand that has been raised and pursued by the Committee for Just and Fair Delimitation for days now, with AMSU now jumping into the fray and demanding that the points of agreement signed in 1980 and 1994 be implemented. It would help if the elders of AMSU or those associated with the Go Back Foreigners movement of 1980 and the 1994 agreement can enlighten the people on the points that were agreed upon. The task ahead is not easy but it is not impossible. The Government just has to demonstrate that it means business in weeding out the illegals. That Delhi has taken note of the threat posed by the unchecked infiltration from across the border can be gauged from the decision it has taken to fence the Indo-Myanmar border and tweak the Free Movement Regime. And if it has acknowledged the issue of unchecked infiltration from across the border, then it is only right that it also addresses the issue of dealing with the illegals who have already entered the State and merged with sections of the local population. Nothing unlawful or illegal in raising the call to first identify the illegals and then conduct the headcount.